Kindness of Strangers

Or should I say, Humbling, Part 3? Remember when I was so psyched about riding my e-bike by myself? Well, Wednesday, Brad came to work from home for his last 2 virtual evening appointments. But, I had already decided that I wanted to go to the pharmacy and grocery so I went by myself. So I rode to Food Lion on the Plaza (our closest store), and locked up my bike. I started to walk across the side of the parking lot toward the CVS and I felt an aura (pre-seizure) come on.

Mind you, I never know quite how long I have before the seizure hits, so I just laid down in the parking lot, and it happened to be right behind a jeep. Not an optimal spot but didn’t want to risk falling and hurting myself in some way. A woman was walking by, and I said, “I’m going to have a seizure, can you make sure that I don’t get hit by a car?” She said she'd call 911 but then walked away. I understood the wish to call but I was nervous laying there alone, and started shouting for help. Another lovely woman came over and stood by me and kept telling me, “Honey, it’ll be ok.” - very kind. I had my, now typical, 30-40 second seizure. I was then able to speak clearly and lucidly.

The 911 caller was still out of sight (because I couldn’t sit up - my left side goes immobile for a while after I come out of it), but I could hear her talking to the operator. Later, she told me they were asking all sorts of questions - if I was pregnant, etc. And she was trying to tell them that she didn’t know me. I was trying to yell to them that I’d be fine and didn't need an ambulance. Another super kind man saw me lay down while he was driving on the Plaza (a very busy road- for those who don’t live here) and pulled in to check on me. He had a very calming presence, he knelt down beside me and asked if I knew what day it was and my name - basically making sure I didn’t have a stroke. I told them that I have a brain tumor and seizures happen sometimes. And, yes, I am on medication for them.

But, by that point, the store manager was out with us, and the fire truck still came - it was quite the scene. Luckily, after the firemen’s assessment, they realized I didn’t need the EMTs and cancelled the ambulance. The lovely woman who stood with me asked for Brad’s number and called him from her phone. Because it was an unknown number, it took a few tries. But when they got him on the phone, I shouted in the background that I was ok, so he didn’t worry too much but was coming to get me, because I wouldn’t be able to ride home.

He pulled in and the fireman commented on the fact that he was smiling. Brad basically said that he knew I was ok and this stuff happens (just not usually in public). I think we’ve become a little cavalier about the whole brain tumor thing, because it’s regular life now. Of course, neither of us would choose this, but we have to live with it and take the funny stories as they come, because laughing > crying.

And, that, ladies and gentlemen, is how I ended up laying in the Food Lion parking lot for 20 minutes on a Wednesday evening.

Part of the moral of this story is that I don’t have to stop riding my e-bike or staying at home all day. This is part of my life at least for the foreseeable future, and the seizures are fairly random, so I’m still going to ride my bike and not live in fear as much as possible. Wear pants, travel with seizure reducers (klonopin and this new nasal spray I have) and hope for kind strangers (and at least try to lay by the drivers side door, as my dad later pointed out).

Thank you men of Engine 7 in NoDa. Thank you Food Lion and kind patrons of Food Lion.